


Snow in Summer

by HomuraRequests (HomuraBakura)



Category: Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Culture Shock, F/M, Fluff, Sight-seeing, Snow, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 12:44:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12388344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomuraBakura/pseuds/HomuraRequests
Summary: Serena didn't realize it was going to be so cold in Kalos.





	Snow in Summer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Quarkie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quarkie/gifts).



“Hey, are you stupid?”

Serena's head snapped up, her arms wrapped tightly over her arms.

“Is that how you say hello?” she said irritably.

Calem just raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well, you're not exactly dressed for the weather,” he said.

Serena glared at him. He wasn't wrong, though, it was cold out here. The sky hung light and gray over their heads, but Serena stood underneath the canopy of the shop behind her. She had hoped it would break some of the wind while she checked her map. Unfortunately, it was cold enough that all she could do was stand there and hug herself, the map hanging uselessly in her fingers.

“You know, you could go inside to look at your map.” Calem pointed out.

“It's rude to loiter when you're not buying anything,” Serena said.

“Is that how it is in Kanto?” he said, blinking. “Just...okay, you're making _me_ cold to look at you. Let's go in, I'll buy you a coffee.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, and was about to tell him that she didn't need him to do that, but then an extra big gust of wind cracked past her and she almost fell over with how cold it was. She gave up, and followed him in through the doors.

The chimes in the door jangled softly, sending a soft echo through the shop. It looked like most of the cafes she had been in since coming to Kalos: small and homey, with dark brown wooden walls, well worn tables, and chairs with leather upholstery. This cafe's color theme seemed to be rose-pink, and crystals. The wall above the dark wood panels along the bottom half was a deep rose-pink that looked smoky, almost like marble. Framed cases hung on the walls, displaying large chunks of crystal and broken geodes inside.

Calem nodded towards a booth and looked at her, before walking towards the bar. Serena stuck her tongue out at his back. Was he just going to pick something without asking her? Well, she supposed he was offering to pay for it, so that...was okay.

She took a seat in one of the booths and rested her head on her hand. From here, she could see outside the large cafe windows, into the cold, gray-white day outside. It was nice and warm in here, and she was starting to feel embarrassed about not just coming inside. She could have bought herself a coffee or something to warm herself up. But instead, she had looked silly in front of Calem.

“Here,” Calem said, startling Serena out of her thoughts. He set a steaming paper cup in front of her.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, curling her hands around it. He slid into the seat across from her with his own cup, blowing on it softly to send the steam twirling past his face.

“So, where were you trying to check on the map, anyway?” he said.

Serena set her cup aside and tugged her map out from under her arm, spreading it out on the table.

“I was trying to find the next gym; it's in Snowbelle, right?” she said. “And that's...right past here. I kind of thought so.”

Calem snorted into his coffee. She snapped her head up at him, glaring.

“What!! What's so funny?”

“You're going to town called Snowbelle, and you didn't think to buy warmer clothes?” he said.

She felt a flush pass over her cheeks.

“I...well, in Kanto, Saffron City isn't yellow,” she said. That sounded lame even to her, and she resisted the urge to smack her own forehead with embarrassment.

Calem burst out with laughter, but he covered his mouth with one hand and tried to hide the shaking of his shoulders. She groaned, resting her head on her arms.

“Fine, okay, I'm stupid,” she said. “Happy?”

Calem managed to calm down, still snickering slightly. He wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye, grinning at her. She crossed her eyes and pouted.

“I take it that it doesn't get that cold in Kanto,” he said.

“Not really,” Serena said. “It gets a little chilly up towards the mountains, but most of Kanto's on the coast...it's warm in the east. Not like here.”

He nodded.

“Well, you'll have to flip your thinking here; it's cold on the east side of Kalos and warm on the west,” he said. “And once you get up to Snowbelle, you're going to be seeing a _lot_ of snow. There's a shop in town where you can buy coats; I can show you.”

She glanced at him to make sure he wasn't making fun of her, but he looked sincere. She dragged her coffee back to her, sitting up and taking a quick, warm sip. She shivered with delight at the warmth sliding down her throat.

“That would be great, thanks,” she said. “Maybe you can give me tips for what are good coats...I probably don't know.”

“If it's comfy and it's warm, that's all you need to know,” Calem said. “Get some gloves and boots, too, if you can. And...you might not want to be trekking through the snow in a skirt.”

“Point taken,” Serena said, wincing.

She glanced around the cafe then, as the conversation seemed to have reached a halt. Was there something else she could say? She took another sip of her coffee, and her eyes fell on the display case with the broken amethyst inside, over their booth.

“What's with all the crystals?” she said. “Seems like a weird theme.”

“Probably because of the Anistar sundial,” Calem said. “It's the thing to see out here.”

He finished his coffee, and set the cup down.

“Hey, since we're both here, want to go look at it when you're done getting yourself a coat?”

“Hmm, and spend more time getting made fun of?” Serena said. He looked a little miffed, so she had pity on him. “I'm joking. Sure, I'd love to go see it. Besides, I owe you for the coffee.”

He laughed softly.

“Just have a battle with me later,” he said. “And we'll call it even.”

* * *

Calem's breath misted through his scarf as they crested the last few steps.

“Hanging in there?” he asked, looking back over his shoulder.

“Ugh, it's not like I'm not used to walking,” Serena said. Her face was a little bit red from the cold, and she pulled her scarf more over her face. Red was a good color for her, he thought. And he wasn't feeling cold looking at her, now that she was adequately dressed for the weather.

“Just a few more steps,” he teased, grinning at her, and she rolled her eyes.

“I've walked just as far as you on this journey— _oh._ ”

He was glad he had turned around to look towards her, because her whole face changed as she made it up, eyes finding the sundial. Her eyes widened, and the scarf slid down her face once again so that he could see her mouth dropping into an O. Then a huge smile burst over her lips, eyes shining.

“ _Whoa_ ,” she breathed. “Oh my—wow, you weren't _kidding_ , this is the thing to see!”

With an excited sort of laugh, she leaped over the steps and practically ran the rest of the way towards the balcony. He grinned, turning to walk after her.

He actually had never seen the sundial in person himself either, though it was plastered on a million postcards, and everyone in Kalos knew about it. In fact, the balcony was already bustling with three other groups of tourists, despite the hour getting later.

The massive structure rose high over their heads, even though they had already climbed quite a few stairs to get up to this large stone balcony. It was a thick, almost opaque crystal, dark pink but shining white along the edges of its facets. The cut made it look like a frozen fire, tongues frozen in place where they licked at the sky. Golden embossing was carved into the front surface in thin arches, surrounding the empty hole in the very center. It was already close to sunset, so they had missed the sun hitting the center perfectly; but even in the cold, cloudy day, it was still magnificent.

“I actually didn't know how big it was,” he said, finally reaching Serena.

She had run all the way to the edge of the balcony, and was leaning over the railing to get as close to it as possible, her eyes and mouth still wide as she stared at it.

“This is incredible,” she said. “Who built something like this?? And how?”

“Well, some people say it came from outer space,” Calem said.

“Oh shut up,” she said, shoving him lightly, but without taking her eyes off of the sundial.

He laughed.

“I'm not joking, that's what it says on the plaque.”

“Get _out_ ,” Serena said, pushing against him to look at the plaque he was pointing at. “I'll bet it brought the Clefairy with them.”

“Huh?”

Serena glanced at him, tilting her head.

“You know, the Clefairy. There's that old story that they all came from space, when a meteor shower crashed down over Mount Moon? I'll bet this came from the same place the Clefairy came from.”

“Okay, now _you're_ the one joking with me,” he said.

“I swear I'm not!! That's what they say in Kanto all the time! Space Clefairy!”

“Next thing you know, they're all gonna start asking for our leaders,” Calem said.

She shoved him again, but she laughed, and it lit her whole face up.

“Well I for one, welcome our new Clefairy overlords,” she said.

He couldn't help it. She said it with such a serious tone of voice that he started laughing. He laughed so hard that he doubled over, and then she was snickering, and the sound of _her_ laughing made _him_ laugh more until _she_ was laughing more—

The day was getting almost too dark to see the plaque when they finally came out of their giggles. Calem was half crying.

“You're ridiculous,” he said.

“You enabled me,” she said, crossing her eyes at him.

He rolled his eyes, but it did nothing to hide his grin. She stuck her tongue out at him—and then a tiny snowflake wafted down, landing right on the tip of her tongue, and she jumped, sucking her tongue back in quickly and putting her hands to her mouth.

“What was that??” she said.

Calem looked up, just in time to see the thin flakes of snow starting to come down. They were small and few between; they wouldn't pile up or last very long.

“It's snow, Serena,” he said. “Haven't you seen snow before?”

Judging by the look on her face, she hadn't. She stared with awe at the flakes cascading down her around her. Slowly, as though it might burn her, she put out one hand to catch a flake in the palm of her glove. It melted as soon as it touched her, and she shivered with delight.

“This is so cool!” she said. “It doesn't get cold enough to snow where I come from!!!”

She turned and spun away from the railing, spinning with her arms outstretched to catch the flakes.

“This is awesome! Kalos is so cool!”

Calem leaned his elbows back on the railing, watching with a grin as Serena spun and almost fell over, giggling. Snow wafted gently and silently from above, seeming to wrap the world in a softer quiet.

“Hey, Serena,” he said.

“Hm?” she said, spinning to a stop to face him.

“When we're done out here,” he said. “In Kalos, with...gyms and everything. Show me Kanto, will you?”

She blinked, lips parting.

Then a huge smile spread over her face.

“Then I'll get to laugh at you for your cultural ignorance,” she teased.

His shoulder shook with the faint laugh.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I'll get your karma then.”

 


End file.
